Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / This dissertation presents the biography of Solomon Stoddard, 1643-1729, and evaluates his contribution to New England Puritanism. TO achieve these goals an examination of numerous other data providing fragments of biographical detail, together with extensive reading of Puritan literature was undertaken. The form is narrative, and the underlying thesis is to sustain or refute Puritan hagiography, which has either ignored Stoddard or condemned him as a malefactor. Stoddard's life spanned a significant and critical period in the development of Puritanism in New England. In a long and distinguished career as minister of the Northampton Church, and ecclesiastical spokesman for the Connecticut Valley, he exerted an influence over ecclesiastical affairs surpassed by none of his contemporaries. However, notwithstanding the historian's familiarity with Stoddard's name, only rare attempts have been made to shed some light on his career. [truncated]